Popular MA Mexican Eatery, Closed For Decades, Making A Comeback

It's time to hop back on the Nostalgia Bus and take a trip, Massachusetts friends and neighbors. There used to be a very popular Mexican restaurant that closed down decades ago in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

My friends and I would go to this place all the time. Great food (and drinks!), a welcoming atmosphere, reasonable prices, and dynamite food (I loved the fried ice cream!). And did I mention the food?

Any readers have any guesses? Here's a hint: It was located on Dalton Avenue. Also, it was a chain restaurant. Unless you're relatively new to the area, you probably know the eatery I'm talking about. That's right. CHI-CHI'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT!

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I have excellent news for Chi-Chi's fans: the popular Tex-Mex restaurant chain is making a comeback! Anyone even remotely familiar with Chi-Chi's, may not be familiar with the company's strange history over the past two decades.

Chi-Chi's, at the height of their popularity, had over 200 locations scattered across the map. However (and many of you will remember this), back in 2004, after the largest hepatitis A outbreak in U.S. history was traced back to a Pennsylvania Chi-Chi's and the green onions used in their complimentary salsa, the restaurant chain closed down.

But even though the restaurants closed down, shoppers could still see the Chi-Chi's brand name at the supermarket on certain products such as tortilla chips and salsa, packaged under Hormel Foods.

I'm happy to report that the son of the original owner got permission from Hormel Foods to open new restaurants under the Chi-Chi's name. In 1975, Marno McDermott opened the first Chi-Chi's with former Green Bay Packer Max McGee.

Marno's son, Michael, very much wants to continue his father's legacy by bringing back the Chi-Chi's restaurant experience that everybody loved and updating it. The first two new restaurants on the Chi-Chi's comeback tour will be opening next year in Minnesota which, by the way, is where the first Chi-Chi's opened back in the mid-70s.

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